The Test of the River | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

The Test of the River

Now, the rest of the army is still with them.

And now, Talut leaves from Baytul Maqdis with his army. He tells them: Allah will test you in the form of a river. The river will be there, and we will be thirsty, we will need the water, it will be attractive — but whoever drinks from it, فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي — they are not from amongst me, i.e. they are not believers.

And whosoever doesn't drink from it, but rather takes one scoop of water in their hands — like in Urdu we say, چُلُّو بَھَر — just one scoop of water in their hands, and they drink it with their hands, فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي — those people will be allowed to remain in my army.

So Talut is telling them that this is a test. How easy is it to pass a test when the answers have already been laid out completely? All you have to do is — when that river comes in front of you and it seems attractive — just don't completely dive in, take one scoop of water and drink it, and it will be sufficient enough for you.

When the Nafs Takes Over

So they're traveling, they get to this river — and some say this is the river between Palestine and Jordan, known as the Jordan River. They get to this river, and they're tired, it's the desert, they see the water. And Allah says that when they get there, the majority of them couldn't hold themselves back. And they just indulged in this water. They continued to drink despite being clearly told: just take one gulp or one sip, or else you won't be allowed to be in my army, and you will fail.

But again, here comes the challenge of Bani Israel — that some of us also face. That sometimes it is pretty black and white. But what the issue becomes is, the nafs controls us at times, whereas we should be the ones controlling our nafs. Allah has already told us that if you do this you'll pass, and if you do this you'll fail. It's been laid out very clearly for us.

So these people come to the river, they drink. And do we think — and now we know because of the rest of the story — would Allah not protect the people that drank one sip? Would He not protect them? Yes, He would.

Allah Does Not Burden a Soul Beyond Its Capacity

Allah does not burden someone beyond their own capacity. Allah will only burden an individual up to their capacity.

A good father and a good mother are parents that know where the breaking point is for the child — and if they don't know that, that's bad parenting. A good teacher knows where to stop and when to start; when to bring in positive reinforcement and when to bring in negative reinforcement. That's a good father and a good mother and a good teacher. A lacking teacher or a lacking parent is the one that uses the same standard — the same breaking point — for each of the children. Everyone is different, everyone has different breaking points.

So Allah knows us better than our parents know us. He knows what our breaking point is. He knows what challenges us beyond our capacity. So Allah reminds us that you will not be tested beyond your capacity and your ability.

The Honor in Being Tested

And the more that you are tested, it is simply a sign — an extension — of how much Allah loves you, and how highly He thinks of you. He thinks you can handle it. And the fact that He thinks that I can handle it should in itself be enough for me to get through it. If Allah thinks I can handle it, I'll handle it.

If my father put this on my plate, man, I'm honored — I'll do it. If my boss thinks that I can do it, and I respect and value my position, I will do whatever I can to complete this task. Because we value and honor that person's acceptance. We value our parents' acceptance. We value people's acceptance.

If we value Allah's acceptance, then what He puts towards us — in the form of trials or blessings — will not deviate us from the true goal. And we will get through it.